The Adventures of Team BAJA – Ep 5 Pt 3 “Storm Front”

Last time on the Adventures of Team BAJA! The party finds a mysterious gem, the Archmage Cho-Mak informs the party of its significance and ill omens. A new member joins the team. An invisible assailant steals the gem! The party follows the trail to an old storage facility on one of the side ports of the city. The party delve deeper into the unknown depths below, uncertain what they will find.

The team began their exploration of the underground facility, after they deduced that the facility housed old storage halls which were layered throughout the port’s hillside. The large stone and wood corridors carried the smell of mold and mildew. The occasional rats and spiders would fade from view, until they discovered an old meeting room laced with spider webs. Brightiron did his best to commune with the small spiderlings that were abundant in the room, only to inform the party that “mother” was not far.

Giant Spider, Image: Typhonart

The party ran back to the main foyer, until a large spider erupted from underneath them. A harrowing battle ensued, the barbarian rode on the arachnid’s backside, hacking it away with a handaxe. The rogue sliced and diced the spider’s underside, while Jimmy and Arcaelus tried to contain the spider swarms. Brightiron took his mighty greatsword and impaled the giant spider through the thorax, with Aydan to deal the final blow with a charged lightning spell. The giant creature slumped the through ground and silence fell upon the facility again.

With heavy guilt, the druid Jimmy gave the large creature a proper sendoff.

The rest of the party decided to explore each of the hallways from the main foyer, they found an underused kitchen and a room full of statues. While in the room of statues, a large, crimson energy pulse cascaded from some unknown corner of the facility and enveloped itself within the statues in the room. The statues sprung to life with a reddish glow and attack the party consequently. The statues proved to be formidable, but the party prevailed and defeated the constructs. Their curiosity was rewarded with a small workshop located adjacent to the statue room. Some new equipment and implements were distributed among the party before they returned through the corridor they came.

The team carefully traversed through to the other side of the facility, and spotted a hidden door behind a worn tapestry. Behind the door, a medium-sized room was revealed that contained bookshelves and a small alter. A large mural hung on the ceiling of the room, the artwork resembled the four elements clashing into a central point. All but Jimmy ventured into the room, a few interesting tomes and vials of unknown elixirs are scattered throughout the room. As the team continued deeper into the room, some of the metallic paint on the mural became infused with power and charged the room with a thunderous blast. Those within the room are pushed into the sides of the room, where large metal spikes emerged as the trap was triggered. Rainer, Arcaelus, and Aydan are battered and skewed; Brightiron endured most of the blast and took his fallen comrades out of the room as quickly as possible. Luckily, the druid remained vigil and quickly resuscitated the party. Battered and bruised, the party continued deeper into the abandoned facility until they stumbled upon a large pillared hallway with most of its floor collapsed and hollow.

Stumped, the party survey the hallway and discovered arcane runes that slowed one’s descent between runes. With some careful maneuvers, namely tossing the halfling rogue halfway through the hall while tied with rope, the party trekked through the hallway expediently. Once on the other side of the hallway, an iron door was all that stood and the end of the corridor. With caution, the party approached the iron door and managed to open it without a sound.

Rainer peeked into the room their apparent assailant and four robed figures standing equidistant from each other within magic circle. With deadly precision, the halfling and the goliath make a mad dash for the central cultist. The two manage to snatch the stolen gem back and flung it back towards the remaining party members.

A creature veiled in smoke

As Aydan gripped the gem, she had a vision with a smoky, shadowy figure. The figure offered the sorceress power in exchange for its freedom. It tells the tiefling of another gem that would grant the entity its desired result. “The gem rests in the heart of winter, it dreams of winter’s chosen, the lost son of winter. Find the lost son of Turnoroth.” The moment passes and Aydan returns to reality, with the gem now in her gauntlet. The rest of the party lay waste to the robed figures who are revealed to be zombified creatures. The cultist offers his own life to fuel the rest of the ritual. A bright crimson energy erupts from the circle, blasting through the ceiling, and cutting the hill itself. The beam charges upward, and a large portal opened in the sky. A large, earthen hand descended upon the hillside of the port, dust and stale air bellowed from the opening.

Oh boy! What happens next? Find out next time! Thank you for reading and following along our adventures. Your support is greatly appreciated. If you want updates whenever we post things on the blog or want to chat with me, please subscribe to our Facebook and Twitter. Don’t forget to share our adventures and this blog to your friends. We want to do more things in the future so we set up a donation button at the top, every little bit helps us. If you want to tip us, that’s also acceptable too.